Wash. poll: Medical pot should be legal, taxed

Voters in Washington state are split on whether marijuana should be made legal, but a big majority favor taxing the sales of medical cannabis, according to a new poll.

Seventy percent think the state should tax the legal sale of medical pot, compared with 22 percent who say no and 8 percent who are unsure.

That contrasts with 46 percent who think the use of marijuana for all purposes should be OK, compared with 46 percent who say no and 8 percent who are unsure.

The poll of 500 likely voters was taken Sept. 11-14 and was paid for by the Seattle political consulting firm Strategies 360.

This past weekend the Washington state Democratic Party voted to endorse Initiative 502, a proposed 2012 measure which would legalize marijuana with distribution and sales put under control of the Liquor Control Board.

Marijuana is a much-discussed topic in local politics these days. Municipalities across the state are grappling with how to deal with the growing number of medical pot shops and related enterprises.

On July 18 the Seattle City Council passed a new law that establishes a regulatory framework for the growing number of medical marijuana dispensaries in Seattle. The City Council unanimously passed its own ordinance because efforts to address medical marijuana, which is legal in Washington, foundered earlier this year in Olympia. Seattle officials will take up the issue of in-city zoning for the pot shops in the coming weeks.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, citing concerns about possible federal prosecution of state employees, earlier this year vetoed most of a medical marijuana bill that would’ve set up a state regulatory framework for medical cannabis, however she allowed a section permitting collective marijuana grows with up to 45 plants, serving up to 10 patients.

Evergreen State voters approved legalizing medical marijuana in 1998. Washington is one of 16 states which allows marijuana use for medical purposes, but the federal government does not recognize any medicinal use for cannabis.